A barge terminal does not need special permission to erect up to 100-foot-tall silos that could affect the centuries-old river views from the ceremonial mounds at Chickasaw Heritage Park next to the Metal Museum, Memphis city and Shelby county planners have discovered.

The American Commercial Barge Line has requested a variance from the Board of Adjustment to erect two silos up to 145 feet tall. The Office of Planning & Development had previously determined the company had the right to build them just 40 or 60 feet tall.

Rendering of how proposed silos would look from I-55 bridge.(Photo: Lauren Crews)

But staff planners determined this week that old zoning maps showed erroneous boundary lines that would have limited the height of one silo to 40 feet and the other to 60 feet, Planning Director Josh Whitehead said this week in email responses to The Commercial Appeal.

Staff planners found that all the terminal property is zoned Heavy Industrial — the maps had erroneously shown some Conservation Agriculture zoning — meaning that by right the silos can be up to 100 feet tall as long as they are at least 100 feet from residential zoning.

But American Commercial Barge Line at 427 W. Illinois wants to erect 145-foot-tall silos to store dry cement. The company is requesting a variance to exceed the 100-foot height restriction. The Board of Adjustment is to consider the request at 2 p.m. April 26 at City Hall.

The bluff is 50 to 70 feet tall, says local property owner Lauren Crews, who opposes the silos as proposed. Forty-to-60-foot-tall silos would be at or below the height of the bluff. But 100-foot-tall silos would protrude 50 to 30 feet over the bluff, and 145-foot-tall silos would rise 95 to 75 feet above the bluff.

But even if the barge company wanted to build the silos 100 feet tall instead of 145 feet, it would still need variances from the Board of Adjustment.

Some of the company's infrastructure goes beyond its property line west toward the river, violating required setback rules, Whitehead said.

And one of the proposed silos may be closer than 100 feet from Metal Museum Drive, where residential zoning begins. That would mean the silo, by rule, could be no more than 60 feet tall.

Some of the erroneous shifting of zoning boundary lines on the old maps may have occurred when the maps were digitized about 10 years ago, Whitehead said, adding, "But we cannot find any evidence that these shifts were actually approved by the Planning Commission and City Council.''

This is not the first time staff planners have noticed inconsistencies in the zoning atlas. "We are actually undergoing a research project through which all Board of Adjustment cases from 1926 to present and all Planning Commission/Land Use Control Board cases from 1956 to present,'' Whitehead said.

"Part of this project will involve researching all zoning district boundaries and making corrections based on historical data,'' he said.

The proposal to build 145-foot-tall silos has drawn opposition from property owners and organizations operating near Chickasaw Heritage Park. The Riverfront Development Corp., which manages the park, the Metal Museum next to the park, and Crews, who plans to the nearby, historic Marine Hospital building into 85 apartments oppose the barge company's proposal.

The 2011 flood destroyed the terminal's 23 storage tanks, company executive George Piccioni states in the application to the Board of Adjustment. Now, the Indiana-based company is trying to rebuild business there by building the silos.

The proposed silos would be 124 feet high, and dust-collector equipment would add another 21 feet.

The barge line initially planned to build the silos up to 100 yards north of the proposed spots, but determined they would have a negative effect on views from the Metal Museum. The firm decided to spend more money to build them in a less efficient spot.

Despite the move, the Metal Museum still opposes allowing the silos' heights to exceed zoning regulations.

Asked Thursday if American Commercial Barge Line will still seek a variance to build 145-foot-tall silos now that the Office of Planning & Development acknowledges the company can more easily build 100-foot-tall silos, Piccioni responded in an email, "We are zoned Heavy Industrial and have the right to build to 100’ tall on our site. This was stated clearly in our (Board of Adjustment) application.''

Asked how he would respond to those concerned about the views from the park, Piccioni had not responded by late morning.